Doll head and movable eye system therefor



Aug. 30, 1932- KQNQFF 1,874,762

DOLL HEAD AND MOVABLE EYE SYSTEM THEREFOR Filed June 13, 1930 INVENTQR A \exa nder Konofi Patented Aug. 30, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I l ALEXANDER KONOFF, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY EsnE AssIemvrEn'rs, To MARG'ON CORPORATION, or nEw onx, 1v. Y., A. CORPORATION or nEwYoEx noLL'nEAniAnn MOVABLE EYE SYSTEM THEREFOR .Ap plioation filed June 13, 1930. Serial No. 460,810.

a This invention relates to toys, and more particularly todolls heads having movable eyes and to a movable eye system' there fo r.

Numerous systems and arrangements of movable eyes for dolls have been suggested and tried out at various times, .butbecause of the numerous desiderata which must be met, only a few of these-arrangements have proven practicable and successful in com-' meroial practice. The most satisfactory movableeye systems comprise a movable eye set and an extensible'or expansion bridge for supporting the eye set. The bridge is ordinarily provided with a pairof tang or prlong plates slidably mounted on the bridge and so arranged that with the aid of a spe plates and the like. This object I fulfil by providing the bridge member with end prongs which are bendable outwardly in order to extend the bridge. The bridge memher and the end prongs are preferably formed out of a single piece of sheet metal, thereby making economical manufacture readily possible. a V

One of the advantages of the expansion bridge heretofore used was the fact that it could be extended with the aid of a tool or fixture. This fixture made it possible to mount the eye system through the neck opening of the dolls head, for the bridge and eye set were supported at one end of the fixture while'the dolls head was located with the eye sockets directly over the eyes,

whereupon the fixture was actuated to expand the bridge and so to fix the same within the head. Accordingly, another object ofmy invention is to so design the expansion bridge, employing outwardly bendable end prongs as above described, as to facilitate extension of the ,bridge with the choring tang for preliminarily holding the the end prongs are located outside of thesides of the intermediate portion or body of;-

aid of a tool or fixture. For this purpose the bridge member. In preferred form "I employ a pair of spaced endprongsat each end of the bridge, and the prongs in each I pair are spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the intermediate portion of the bridge so that a fixture employing separable yokes surrounding the bridge is readily able, upon separation of-the yokes, tobend the end prongs outwardly and em-' bedthe same in the head. i H I The tool or fixture for, expanding the those at the other end of the bridge. Also,

even if both yokes are made oppositely and the bridge may becaused by reason of non uniformity in the resistance of the material of the dolls head, or non-symmetry in the location of the inner walls receiving the prongs. Stillanother object of my invention is to overcome these difficulties, which I do through the provision of a locatingor anbridge in proper location during the actua-- tion of the tool for embedding the, end prongs into the material of'thedolls head.

material of the 'doll s y I 651 bridge .mayfbesimplified if only oneof the equally movable, incorrect final locationof The manufacture-of dolls eyes must tool up for, manufacture, and have in stock a large number of sizesof movable eye systems in order to fit the correspondingly large number of sizes of dolls heads used in the toy art. This requirement heretofore applied not only to the eye-sets, includingthe cross bar and eyes mounted thereon, but also to.

the bridges for supporting the ey esetwithin ments spaced a predetermineddistance;apart which is uniform for all sizes of head. These thedolls head. Another object of the pres-" 1 ficient.

- v one to the other as hereinafter are more specification is accompanied" by the drawing" The spacing between the eye sockets in a dolls head varies'directly with the size of the head, and in each case is nearly 'asgreat: as the width of the head. It would therefore be exceedingly diliicult to provide uniformly spaced-abutments at the sidesof difl'erent sizes of dolls head. 'Accordingl'y,

I provide the dolls head'with top and bottom abutments, and use an upright expansion bridge for supporting the eye set in transverse relation to the bridge. With. such an the bridge are provided wlth slots 18 for receiving the cross rod 4 of the eye'set A.

arrangement it is readily possibleto retain a standardized uniform distance between the opposed faces of the abutments while varythe s'ize'of the head. Another advantage incidentally-obtained by the useof anupright bridge is that less clearance isneeded toinsert the same through the neck opening of the dolls head when mounting the eye system in place;

To the accomplishment 'of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the movable eye supporting elements and the r relation particularly I described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims- The in" which r Fig. 1 is a vertical section througha dolls' head embodying my invention; I

Fig.2 is-a section taken in a plane normal to that ofFig. 1 looking towardthe frontof the dolls head;

Fig. 3 illustrates the mounting of the eye system within the dolls' head prior to exk tending the bridge; 7

Fig. 4 shows the bridge extended; Fig. '5 is a section taken in the plane of the line 55 in Fig. 2but is illustrative "of a slightly modified form of'bridge; a v

Fig. 6 is a detail of the modificaiton shown in Fig.5;and I 'Fig. 7 is a detail of still another modification of my invention. 1 Referring to the drawing it will be observed that in each case an eye set A is supported by a bridge B which is mounted in a dolls head 0. The eye set A may be any one of a number of conventional types and need not be described in detail. In general, it will include a pair of eyes 2 mounted on a cross rod 4, to which there is afixed preferably by spot welding, a depending weight arm or weight wire 6 carrying a gravityoperated' weight 8 for moving the eyes between their opened and closed positions. In the modifij cations shown in Figs. 1-4, the weight wire 6 is bentaround the cross rod 4 to form ,a motion limiting or stop member 10 which determines the position .ofthe pupils of the eyes when open. Y

locate the "cross The extension or expansion bridge B inof the channeledportion .12, or, differently ex;

pressed, that the spacing lbetween the prongs '14 or between the prongs l6i is"greaterthan th-e'width of the intermediate or channeled portion 12 of the bridg e.

gThezsides ,ofthe channeled portion 12 of These "slots permit 'niovement of the eye set towardand'froin the eye sockets of the dollsa head. Resilient means, "preferably in the form of a hairpin spring '20, mounted in a' slit;22, best shown in Fig, 5 of the bridge, urges the eye set forwardly in slots18'toward the eye'sockets of the 'dolls head-in order to Y obtain a-closefit between the eye shells and the rims of the eye sockets without causing excessive friction therebetween- The haircause of. its extreme simplicity and cheapness,

pin type of spring disclosed is preferable be and also because the depending legs of the hairpin spring are dis osed at either side of the weight wire 6 and therefore serve to help rod 4: transversely of-the bridge."

,The center portion of the bridge is cut away to form a longitudinal slot or opening 22 through which the weight'wire 6 extends" and in which it is oscillatable during movement of theweight 8.- The material from slot 22 isonly partially cut away, the remaining. material being bent backwardly'to form the v motion'limiting or stop member 24: against determine the closed position of the eyes. This stop may be bentslightly, if necessary,

The bridge B is preferably called a locating or anchoring tang, the funcwhich the weight wire 6 contacts in order to I also provided with an additional prong 26 whic y be tion of which is to retain the bridge in its 2 initial location during the operation of era-- bedding the end prongs letand 16 into the material of the dolls head. It shouldfbe noticed that the entire bridge member 'is' formed out of a singl-ejsheet' of-metal, with member is possible.

The dolls head C abutments 3O formedon the front wall of p may be of conventional type, except that itis provided with interior" the dolls head at a predeterminedstandard ized spacing for receiving the bridge B. ,By

making this spacing'uniform' in amount regardless of the size of the dolls head it is possible to employ a single size ofbridge for different sizes of doll, which leads to further manufacturingeconomies inasmuch as it dispenses withlthe necessityof tooling-up for, manufacturing, and keeping in stock bridgesof a large number of sizes. The-abutments are preferably located above and below the eye openings, as shown, becausethe desirable standardized spacingtherebetween could not very conveniently be obtained if side abutments'a-nd a horizontal bridge were employed instead of the top and bottom abutments with anupright bridge here shown. The eye set and bridge are mounted in the dolls head with the aid ofatool, best shown" in Fig. 3 of the drawing. Thisftool comprises a base '32, a fixed extension 34 mounted thereon through a pillar 36, and a .movable extension 38 slidable in the pillar 36 under the actuation of a manually operable lever 40 pivoted to the base 32 at 42 and connected to the movable extension 38 through a pin 44 passing through a slot 46. A hearing screw f 48 is mounted in the fixed extension 3% and passes through a slot 50 in the movable extension 38 so as to accurately guide the movement of extension 38.

- The outer extremity of fixed extensionfi is made about equal in width to the width of.

the channeled portion 12 of the bridge,and

carries a pair of upwardlyextending sides 52 which form a yoke surrounding one end of the channeled portion of the bridge. The

. sides are reduced in height in the region of the cross wire 4, as shown at 54, in order to clear the cross wire and to provide stops against which the cross wire restsduring the operation of the tool. The movable extension 38 carries upwardly extending sides 56 thedistance between whichis about equal to the width of the channeled portion 12 of the bridge so that theyform in effect a yoke surrounding the end of the bridge.

i bound against the eye openings.

ri tion of the cross rod 4 against the side or stop members 54, and these are properly designed to support the cross rod at an intermediate point in the slots 18 'so as to prevent the eye shells becoming permanently frictionally bearingof tang 26 in the abutment 30, and the bearing of cross rod 4 against the sides 54 determine the location of the bridge with respect to the front wall of the dolls head.

I The. lever 40- is then pushed away from .the

Also, the

dolls head so as to separate the projections or yokes 52 and 56, and this separation extends or expands the end prongs 14tand 16 of the bridge, thereby embedding the same in the opposed faces of the abutments as is best shown in Fig. 4: of the drawing. The

length of the upper edges of the stop members 5tis sufficiently great to continue to support the cross rod 4" while theprongs areem; bedded'in the material of the ,dolls head.

It will be observed that the'tool isconside erablysimplified by making only one of the members movable,- and any sdisadvantage I which might arise from this simplification is obviated by the use. ofthelocating tang 26 a which causes the bridge to retain itsinitial location with respect to the eye openings dur= ing the expension of the bridge. This locat-.

ing tang is also valuable because of-the fact that the resistance of the material in-one of c the abutments may differ from that inthe other, or thelocation of the abutments may be inaccurate andunsymmetrical. A In Figs. 5 and 6 a slightly-modified form of bridge member is illustratedin which, in 7 addition to utilizing the material from the upper porton of the slot 22 toform the stop 24, the material from the lower portion of the slot 22 is utilized to form a stop 60. WVith this arrangement the weight wire 6 may ter? minate at the cross rod 4 instead of being bent downwardly to form the stop 10, shown in Figs. 1-4. It will be evident that stop 24:

determines theclosedposition of the eyes, while stop 60 determines the open position of the eyes. If necessary, these stops may be bent slightly, after the bridge is mounted in. place, preferably by forcing the weight 8 in one direction or the other through the neck opening of the dolls head, in order to adjust the extreme positions as desired. The stops 24L and6O are preferably appropriately bent so as to be somewhat resilient in orderto cushion the movementof the weight andto avoid noise.

Figs. 4 and 7-illustrate a form Ofbridge which differs from that shown in the re1naining figures by reason of the inclusion of a spacer lug 62 which is locatedbetween the prongs 16 in a manner similar to the location of the anchoring tang 26 between the prongs 14:. The spacer lug 62 is intended to-bear against the rear face of the abutment 30 and so to determine the spacing of the bridge from the front wall of the dolls head. By using this lug the stop members 54 on the tool may, if desired, be dispensed with. However, I believe it preferable to retain the stop members 54 inorder to insure that thecross rod 4. may recede against the spring pressure after the dolls head is removed from the tool, and I findin practice that the spacer lug 62 may be dispensed with, with'no apparentdisadvantages. g i The manner of constructing and using,

and the many advantages of my inventi on will, it is believed, be apparent from the foregoing description thereof. The eye set may be of any desired type. The bridge is exceedingly simple, being formed from a single sheet of metal, and yet is adapted for operation in a manner quite similar to the far more complex expansion br dges heretofore. employed. The, br dge is adapted to be mounted in "place with the aid of a tool which is itself simple in construction, and

yet which serves to support the'eye set accurately in place during the mounting operation. By'providing the dolls headgwith top and bottom abutments of uniform spacing, it is-possibleto fit different sizes oidolls head with only a single size of bridge. Either one or two motion limiting stops may J be provided on the bridge, and these are formed from waste material and are adjustable. 'The bridge may be inserted through neck openings-01 relatively small diameter because it is in longitudinal relation with theaxis of the neck opening.

It will be apparent that while I have shown I and described my invention in the preferred forms, many changes and modifications may befmade in the structures disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention,

defined in. the'following claims. I claim:

1. An expansion bridge for supporting a P movable eye set comprising a channeled memher and pairs of spaced end prongs all formed out or a single sheet of metal, the

said end prongs being bendablev outwardly and spaced at'a' width greater than that of the channeled member to facilitate expansion bendable pairs of end prongs formed out of asingle sheet er metal, the said end prongs being spaced at a width greater than that l of the intermediate member,.and the inter mediate member being provided with means for receiving the cross rod of the eye set.

d. A bridge forsupporting a movableeye set comprising a channeled member and bends able end prongs formed out of a single sheet of metal, the said end prongs being located at a width greater than that of the channeled member, the sides of the channeled member being pro'vided with a pair of slots torreceiving the crossrod of the eye set, andresilie nt nieans carried by said bridge for'urging the eye set toward the eye sockets of the dolls head in which the bridge is mounted.

5. A bridge for supporting a movableeye set comprising an intermediate member, outwardly bendable prongs on the ends thereof, and a weight stop, all formed out of a single sheet of metal, and means on the intermediate; member for carrying the eye set. w

6. A bridge for supporting -movable eye setcomprising'an intermediate member, outwardly bendable end prongs pointed in the direction of'the length ot-the intermediate member, and a fixed locating prong pointed in a direction perpendicular to that of the intermediate member, all formed out of a slngle sheet of metal, and means on their-1'- termediate member for'carrying the eye set-r 'Z.'An extension bridge tor'supporting a movable eye set comprising an intermediate member, outwardly bendable end prongs, a locating tang, and, aweight stop,- the said end prongs being located fill'il; width greater than that of the intermediate member to facilitate extension of the bridge, and means on the intermediate member for; carrying V the eye set. p

8. An expansion bridge "for supportinga movable eye set comprising a'channeled mem ber, outwardly bendable end prongs, a locating tang, and a weight stop, the said end rongs being located at a width vgreater'than that of the channeled member to. facilitate extension of the bridge,means for movably car rying the eye set, and resilient means urging the eye set towardthe eye sockets of the dolls head in which the bridgeis mounted.

9. An expansion bridge for transversely supporting a movable "eye set comprisinga channeled member, outwardlybendable pairs of spaced end prongs, a locating -tang,and a weight stop, all formed out of a single sheet of metal, the said end prongs being-located at a width greater than that of the channeled member. to facilitate extension of the bridge, the sides of the channeled member being provided with a pair of slots for transversely receiving the cross rod ofthe eye set, andre silient means carried by said bridge for urging the eye set toward the eye sockets of the dolls head in which the bridge is mounted. 10. A movable eye system for dolls comprising an. eye set including a pair of eyes,

a cross rod and a depending weight, and a. 7

bridge for supporting saideye set including an intermediate member, and outwardly bendable prongs on the ends thereof, formed out of a single sheet or metal, the said end prongs being "located outside of the sides of the intermediate member to facilitate extension of the bridge, a ndmeans on said intermediate member for receiving the cross rod of the eyeset. i

11. A movable'eye system 01? dollscom prising an eye set including a pair of eyes, a

cross rod and a depending weight, and an upright bridge for supporting said eye set including an intermediate member, outwardly bendable pairs of spaced end prongs, and a locating tang, the said end prongs being located at a width greater than that of the in termediate member to facilitate extension of the bridge, and means for receiving the cross rod of the eye set in transverse relation to the intermediate member.

12. A movable eye system for dolls comprising an eye set including a pair of eyes, a cross rod and a depending weight, and an upright bridge for supporting said eye set including a channeled member, outwardly bendable pairs of spaced end prongs, and a locating tang, all formed out of a single sheet of metal, the said end prongs being located at a width greater than that of the channeled member to facilitate extension of the bridge, the sides of the channeled member being provided with a pair of slots receiving the cross rod of the eye set in transverse relation to the channeled member, and resilient means carried by said bridge for urging the eye set toward the eye sockets of the dolls head in which the eye system is mounted.

13. A movable eye system for dolls comprising an eye set including a pair of eyes, a cross rod and a depending weight, and an upright bridge for supporting said eye set including a channeled member, outwardly bendable mounted.

pairs of spaced end prongs, a located tang,

and a weight stop, the said end prongs being located at a width greater than that of the channeled member to-facilitate extension of the bridge, the sides of the channeled member being provided with a pair of slots receiving the cross rod of the eye set in transverse relation to the channeled member, and resilient means carried by said bridge for urging the eye set toward the eye sockets of the dolls head in which the eye system is 14. A dollsliead having eye sockets formed in the front wall thereof and having interior abutments formed on the front wall of the dolls head at a predetermined spacing for receiving an eye set supporting bridge, an eye set including a pair of eyes, a cross rod and a depending weight, and an expansion bridge supporting said eye set including an intermediate member, and bendable prongs on the ends thereof formed out of a single sheet of metal, the said end prongs being located at awidth greater than that of the intermediate member and being embedded in the opposed faces of the abutments, and means on the intermediate member receiving the cross rod of an eye set.

15. A dolls head having eye sockets formed in the front wall thereof and having interior abutments formed on the front wallof the dolls head at a predetermined spacing for re ceivinganeyes'et supporting bridge, an eye set including a pair of eyes, a cross rodan'd a depen'dingwei'ght, and an expansion bridge sup porting said eye set including an intermediate member, and'outwardly bendable prongs on the ends thereof embedded in the, opposed faces ofthe abutments,the said end prongs being located outside of the sides of the intermediate member to facilitate extension of the bridge, and means on said intermediate member for receiving the cross rod of the eye set.

16. A dolls head having eye sockets formed in the front wall thereof and having top and bottom interior abutments formed on the front wall of the dolls head atapredetermined spacing for receiving aneyeset supporting bridge, an eye set including a pair of eyes, a cross rod and a depending weight, and an upright extension bridge supporting said eye set including an intermediate member, and outwardly bendable prongs on the ends thereof embedded in the opposing faces of the abutments, the said end prongs being located out side of the sides of the intermediate member to facilitate extension of the bridge, the intermediate member being provided with means for receiving the cross rod of the eye set.

17. A dolls head having eye sockets formed in the front wall-thereof and having top and bottom interior abutments formed on the front wall of the dolls head at a predetermined spacing for receiving an eye set supporting bridge, an eye set including a pair of eyes, a cross rod and a depending weight,and an upright extension bridge supporting said wardly bendable end prongs embedded in the eye set including a channeled member, out

opposed faces of the abutments, and a locating tang embedded in the rear face of one of the abutments, the sides of the channeled member being provided with a pair of slots receiving the cross rod of the eye set, and resilient means carried by said bridge urging the eye set toward the eye sockets of the dolls head.

7 18. A dolls head having eye sockets formed in the front wall thereof and having top and bottom interior abutments formed on the in the opposed faces of the abutments, the

locating tang being embedded in the rear face of one of the abutments, the sides of the channeled member being provided with a pair of slots receiving the cross rod of the eye set in transverse relation to the channeled memher, and resilient means carried by said bridge urging the eye set toward the eye sockets of the dolls head. Signed at New York, in the county of New fan 

